The Zrt⁄Irt-like protein (ZIP) family of transporter proteins is involved in the uptake of essential metal elements in plants. Two homologous ZIP genes fromThlaspi japonicum, TjZNT1andTjZNT2, encode products that share high amino acid sequence similarity except at the N-terminus and the cytoplasmic loop between transmembrane domains III and IV, and that have been shown to be Zn 2+ and Mn 2+ transporters, respectively.